Bottle washing machine



Feb. 20, 1940. G VQLKERT I 2,191,002

BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE Filed NOV. 24, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

G. VOLKERT BOTTLE WASHING MACHINE Filed Nov. 24, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 20, 1940 PATENT OFFICE BOTTLE .WASHING MACHINE George Volkert, Superior, Wis. Application November 24, 1937, Serial No. 176,211

2 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle washing devices and has for its principal object simplicity of construction as well as operation. A further object is that of providing conven- 5 ient means for both washing and rinsing either by steam or water and with or withouta detergent or other washing compound, and at the same time providing simple means for such together with it being optional with the operator to rinse or wash with any other preferred compound.

Another object is to provide means whereby to insure an equal amount of detergent being supplied to each bottle or receptacle being washed.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

forming part of this application, and wherein likereference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a combined central section and elevation of a washing unit embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view ofone of the complete devices partly broken away.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional View of the water, steam, and standpipe control connection.

Figure 4 is a similar view of the automatic check valve in the standpipe.

Figured is a central sectional view partly in elevation of a modified form of mixing or distributing chamber, and

Figure 6 is a fragmental top plan view of Fig.

5, with a portion of the cover of the distributing chamber removed.

In the drawings the numeral I represents a comparatively shallow and conveniently shaped base receptacle into which are shown as installed through one end the water supply pipe 2 and through the opposite end the steam supply pipe 3; these pipes meeting within the center of the receptacle 1 and connected by the three-way Valve 4, the centrally disposed outlet 5 of which is connected to and disposed within the enlarged coupling 6 attached to the lower end of the standpipe l extending upwardly through and centrally of the elongated rectangularly shaped housing 8, supported in any desired manner above the pipes 2 and ii within the receptacle l. Centrally of and within this housing 8 is formed a receptacle 9, having an arcuately shaped bottom ll] therein and supported in any desired manner within the receptacle l. Within the receptacle 9,

the standpipe l haslsurrounding same a platform ll for convenient support of the upper end of four slightly inclined water circulating pipes l2,

, which extend downwardly and through the arcuate bottom it of the receptacle 9, and are each connected with a branch pipe l3, there being four :1}! of same extending radially from the syphon coupling 6 for such connection. Intermediate of the coupling 6 and the attachment to the pipes ii are installed in each of said branch pipes l3 a second pipe connection i i extending upwardly 10} and through the arcuate bottom I0 communicating with the chamber 9, and the openings to which are controlled as by the sliding gate like members l5, the handles of which correspond in shape to the arcuate bottom and extend up- 5 wardly and beyond the ends of the receptacle 9,

as at l6, providing convenient handles for manipulation of the gates l5 and thereby governing the amount of detergent from the receptacle 9 entering the pipes M, or toprevent any of said detergent from passing thus into the coupling 6 as desired, it being noted that each member it: controls two of the openings into the pipes it. By this connection it will be noted that as the level of water within the receptacle 9 has risen above the platform I! a portion thereof at least will circulate downwardly through the pipes l2 into the coupling 6, and if the water should rise materially above said platform a suitable number of holes 3! are provided through the 9 side walls of the receptacle 9 and through which such excess water is cared for, and any form of drain pipe, not shown, from the base receptacle I, may obviously be installed to care for same.

Upon the standpipe l and a suitable distance 5 above the receptacle 9 is installed a, novel form of T-like coupling ll, shown as carrying an automatically controlled check valve therein, which will be described later, and the opposed horizontally disposed connections of the T have branch .40 pipes l8 installedtherein. Each of these branch pipes is shown as carrying three equally spaced smaller stand or jet pipes l9 therein for reception or" the bottles to be cleansed, and as is customary in similar devices. It is evident that .45 any number of these jets may be provided in keeping with the size of the washing unit and the bottles being cared for. The uppermost central connection of the T I7 is illustrated as being attached to a water supply pipe 20, and the valve 5!) 2! within this connection ll is illustrated as having a stem 22 attached thereto and extending upwardly through a suitable hole within a spider like washer 23 installed within the coupling as a guide for said stem. The stem is shown as carry- 55 ing a similar washer like guiding member 24 so that as the valve'is reciprocated by the action of the water within the pipes i and 20, it may not become dislodged, and provide suitable additional means whereby to rinse the bottles if desired by a different solution from that previously described as coming from the water or'steam pipes 2 and 3, it being understood that the pipes 2, 3 and 20 may be provided with any desired form of control valves, not illustrated, and it is deemed non-essential to further describe the type of jet pipes It, as varieties of such are common in the art.

It will be noted that this fitting His further novel in that it is provided With pressure safety means upon one side of the lower portion thereof, and which comprises a lateral enlargement 28 having an L-shaped passageway therein, opening into the interior of the pipe i. This passageway has a ball valve and seat therefor as at 29, controlled by the expansive spring 30, regulated as by the screw threaded plunger 3i, and which ballmay be impinged in a manner to readily exhaust the contents of the pipe 'l' by virtue of the valve 2 being suddenly closed, and an undue pressure otherwise exist in the pipe i.

It will also be apparent that the washing ingredient is forced within the bottles while standing on end, as shown, and will run downwardly out of the bottles and back into the receptacle 9 where the granular material, if any is used, will settle to the bottom thereof as indicated, and where its discharge into the pipes it is optionally controlled as previously described. When either steam or Water from the pipes 2 or 3 is turned into the standpipe l, as by the connection e, previously described, the syphoning action of such, upwardly in the syphon connection 6 will draw granular material through the pipes l4 and force same upwardly into the pipe 1 and discharge it into the bottles being washed, simultaneously, of course, with raising the valve 2| in the connection ill and shutting off all communication with the pipe 7%, thus preventing granular material getting into said pipe above the valve where it might subsequently eifect the action of the valve or be forced into, the pipes It by the action of, for example, clear water coming through the pipe 2i: when the valve 2! will automatically be closed by such action.

It is to be noted, and obvious from viewing Figure 3 of the drawings, that the central connection 5 of the valve 5 is preferably .of nozzle like shape and extends well within the ejector coupling 5 so as to produce the desired syphoning eifect through the branch pipes l3, and that this connection carries that form of valve or cook known asa spigot valve, the spigot being illustrated at 25 and having opposed arcuately shaped ports 28 tlrlerein, which, when the spigot is rotated by any form of handle indicated at 21, in one direction, will open communication from the steam pipe 3 to the standpipe l, but when rotated in the opposite direction will close this communication and open communication with the water pipe 2. When, however, the spigot is left in a neutral position, both of such communi cations are closed.

Where a considerably larger number of bottles are to be washed simultaneously, it may be found desirable to more evenly distribute the washing compound or detergent, if such may be used, than is possible with the simple device previously described. For this purpose, I have devised the modification of distributor illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings, and which comprises a hollow disc like coupling member 32 having a central conically shaped bottom 33 through opposite walls ofwhich are two opposed branch pipes 34, they discharging in opposite directions Within the coupling 32 so as to cause the water to rapidly circulate within said coupling, resulting in the heavier granular particles carried by the Water gathering within the central concavity as illustrated at 35 about the base of the cone 33, and into which groove or trough like formation, all of the bottle supporting and washing pipes 36, which extend radially from the coupling, are connected as by the nipples 36, or may be suitably bent for such purpose.

Directly beneath the cone 33 of the coupling 32 is formed a hub-like extension 38 of said posed pipes 36 may be of any desired number and of a length and so disposed that their termini may be in the form of rectangular or circular groups, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A distributing manifold for bottle washing devices characterized by having a circular cham ber therein, an axially disposed water and detergent supply connection to the bottom of said chamber, opposed discharge nozzles within said chamber extending from said connection to adjacent the periphery of said chamber wheresaid nozzles discharge at substantially right angles to the axis of the body portion thereof to impart a circular motion to the water and detergent discharged therefrom, and a plurality of radially disposed pipes leading from the bottom of said chamber adjacent said connection each to an object to be cleansed, whereby uniformly mixed water and detergent from said chamber may be discharged through said radially disposed pipes.

2. A distributing manifold for bottle washing devices characterized by having a circular chamber therein, a water and detergent supply connection to said chamber, opposed discharge nozzles within said chamber from said supply connection, the terminal discharge of each of said nozzles being at substantially right angles to the axis of the main body portion thereof and discharging in an opposite direction to that of the other nozzle so as to impart a circular motion to the discharge therefrom and cause the water and detergent to uniformly circulate within said chamber, and a plurality of pipes each leading from said chamber to an object to be cleansed.

GEORGE VOLKERT.

coupling for the threaded connection with the 

